October is National Bullying Prevention Month. Here are some recent middle-grade books about the negative impacts of bullying and ways to model kindness and inclusivity to one's peers.
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American as paneer pie
by Supriya Kelkar When a racist incident rocks her small Michigan town, eleven-year-old Lekha must decide whether to speak up or stay silent, even as she struggles to navigate her life at home, where she can be herself, and at school, where she is teased about her culture. |
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A first time for everything
by Dan Santat In this feel-good coming-of-age memoir, the best-selling author and Caldecott Medalist shares his life-changing middle school trip to Europe during which he experiences a series of firsts, including first love. |
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Four eyes
by Rex Ogle When Rex finds out he needs glasses, he's beyond miserable. Dealing with the bullies at school, his family being broke, and an embarrassing lack of friends, he has way too much on his plate already. |
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Genesis begins again
by Alicia Williams Thirteen-year-old Genesis tries again and again to lighten her black skin,. thinking it is the root of her family's troubles, before discovering reasons to love herself as is. |
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Jennifer Chan is not alone
by Tae Keller When Jennifer Chan, a new girl who believes she can find aliens, goes missing, Mallory Moss sets out to find her and must figure out why Jennifer might have run—and face the truth inside herself. |
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Nikhil out loud
by Maulik Pancholy The voice actor for a hit animated series, 13-year-old Nikhil must find the courage to speak out about what's right when a group of conservative parents protest his openly gay status. |
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Obie is man enough
by Schuyler Bailar Diving into a new swim team, transgender tween Obie is determined to prove he can be one of the fastest boys in the water—to his coach, his bullies and his biggest competition: himself. |
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One kid's trash
by Jamie Sumner Hugo becomes cool for the first time in his life due to his extraordinary talent for garbology, the science of decoding people's trash, and lets it all go to his head. |
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Rick
by Alex Gino Eleven-year-old Rick Ramsey has generally gone along with everybody, just not making waves, even though he is increasingly uncomfortable with his father's jokes about girls, and his best friend's explicit talk about sex; but now in middle school he discovers the Rainbow Spectrum club, where kids of many genders and identities can express themselves--and maybe among them he can find new friends and discover his own identity, which may just be to opt out of sex altogether |
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Starfish
by Lisa Fipps A debut novel-in-verse follows the experiences of a girl who tries to change her behavior when she is bullied for her weight, before a swimming hobby, a kind therapist and an accepting new neighbor help her embrace her true self. Simultaneous eBook. |
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What happened to Rachel Riley?
by Claire Swinarski New at East Middle School, Anna's curiosity is piqued when one of the most popular girls in school, Rachel Riley, becomes a social outcast but no one will tell Anna why, compelling her to put her fact-seeking skills to good use. |
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Wink : Surviving Middle School With One Eye Open
by Rob Harrell Ross Maloy just wants to be a normal seventh grader. He doesn't want to lose his hair, or wear a weird hat, or deal with the disappearing friends who don't know what to say to "the cancer kid." But with his recent diagnosis of a rare eye cancer, blending in is off the table. Based on Rob Harrell's real life experience, and packed with comic panels and spot art, this incredibly personal and poignant novel is an unforgettable, heartbreaking, hilarious, and uplifting story of survival and finding the music, magic, and laughter in life's weirdness. |